The Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Nationwide Race in Charlotte, NC headline ESPN/ABC’s motorsports coverage this week.
Motorsports This Week on ESPN and ABC
Indianapolis 500 Airing for 48th Year on ABC
ABC will air the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, continuing one of the longest-running relationships between a sporting event and a TV network with the race on ABC for the 48th straight year. A one-hour pre-race show airs at 11 a.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 12:12 p.m. For the first time, viewers will be able to watch streaming views from onboard cameras on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen, live sports event network.
Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-lap announcer Marty Reid; analysts Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever.Host: Brent Musburger
Pit reporters: Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch, Vince Welch
NASCAR Nationwide Series at Charlotte on ABC
The NASCAR Nationwide Series races this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the History 300 airs live on ABC on Saturday, May 26. NASCAR Countdown airs at 2:30 p.m. ET with the race’s green flag at 3:01 p.m. Also from Charlotte, ESPN2 airs NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Announcers:
Booth: Lap-by-Lap announcer Allen Bestwick; analysts Rusty Wallace, Andy Petree.
Pit reporters: Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake.
NASCAR Now Schedule
The one-hour weekend edition of ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program NASCAR Now will air on Sunday, May 27, at 10 a.m. ET with a preview of that night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Michael Yam will host, joined by analyst Ricky Craven with reporters Mike Massaro and Ryan McGee at the track. NASCAR Now will review the race at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 28.
Date Time Show Host Network Tue., May 22 3 p.m. NASCAR Now Jonathan Coachman ESPN2, WatchESPN Wed., May 23 3 p.m. NASCAR Now Jonathan Coachman ESPN2, WatchESPN Fri., May 25 3 p.m. NASCAR Now Michael Yam ESPN2, WatchESPN Sun., May 27 10 a.m. NASCAR Now Michael Yam ESPN2, WatchESPN Mon., May 21 3 p.m. NASCAR Now Allen Bestwick ESPN2, WatchESPN Global Rallycross Charlotte Action Airs on ESPN2
The high-octane world of Global Rallycross, which mixes the energy of motorsports with the attitude of action sports, is kicking off its 2012 season with an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the famous track’s NASCAR weekend. The event, which will be contested on a 0.750-mile Rallycross course built along the frontstretch and pit road of the 1.5-mile superspeedway, will air on ESPN2 on Saturday, May 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
In addition, the event will air on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen live sports network, starting at 7 p.m.
NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series on ESPN2
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series has the weekend off, but NHRA fans can watch action from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series on Saturday, May 26, at 12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The telecast will feature highlights from the recent event in Topeka, Kansas.
Motorsports on Other ESPN Platforms
ESPN.com — RacingLive! on ESPN.com is a live blog where fans can engage in debate and discussion with ESPN.com writers and editors during the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. On Sunday, May 27, RacingLive! Charlotte will coincide with the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Fans can join ESPN.com’s NASCAR experts in dissecting every aspect of the race live at http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/. ESPN.com motorsports writer David Newton will be on hand at Charlotte.
ESPN Radio — Each weekend morning, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay starts its engines at 6 a.m. ET with host Pat Patterson anchored from the site of that weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race. On both Saturday and Sunday mornings, ESPN Radio’s RaceDay listeners get an hour of news, previews and analysis, as well as profiles and interviews with NASCAR’s biggest names and newsmakers and the involvement of listeners via calls and e-mails.
That’s it.